Why people in Ameria are lazy learning another language, while in Europe, people know easy 2 - 3 languages ???

Question

I mean people in the UK come to know french and german besides English. While In the US, American lag to know more than just English.

Answer 1

Take a look at a world map if you really want to know the answer to your question. The continent of Europe is smaller than North America, where English is spoken across the entire continent. Eastern Canadians speak French also, but Western Canadians speak English. When one language is dominant across an entire continent there is no need to know 2-3 languages. European countries are smaller than many American states, so it makes sense to learn multiple languages. We take a second language in high school, but most Americans never need to speak a second language because English is spoken so widely across the globe - as they do in Europe, where students are required to learn it in several countries. In order to be fluent in another language, you need to speak it, and that opportunity does not readily present itself here when there is no need to do so. Everybody speaks English fluently for thousands of miles, so it is not lazy to not learn a language you have no real need to know. Most people never use the second language they do learn, and it is forgotten from lack of use.

Answer 2

Well, one obvious answer is that it's not put on the school curriculum. And when it is, it is almost never taught by a native speaker, or in the language at all. If it is even required, it's never more than two years. This adds up to a the majority of Americans with little experience with a foreign language, and they usually forget it immediately.

Another reason is that when we do try to teach languages, we start too late to learn efficiently: Most districts don't offer languages until high school. There is a kind of deadline to starting a language-- and that deadline is about age 9-12-- to be able to learn the language easily. Why? Well, take my word for this: There are two different ways to learn language-- cognitively (memorizing, figuring out) or with a language tool you were born with. But your brain grows out of being able to use that tool at about 11 years, and then all you have left to learn with is the cognitive part. However, if you do learn a second language during childhood, that tool stays available a little longer, around age 16.

In Europe kids start learning another language at least by age ten. This explains how easy it is, then, for them to learn another one at 14. Foreign languages are also required in the schools, usually beginning with English and starting at age ten. A second language is required later in school, but because they learned the first one at 10, they can still easily learn another starting at 14. Also, the language classes are taught in the language itself. I think that they would find our language courses ridiculous.

There is another reason too. The United States is a huge country, full of variety in every way possible. It is not surprising, then, that many of us stay in the country for our vacations, going to wonderful tourist areas all over. So knowing another language isn't often useful. We have 50 different states to visit in our huge country. Now take a look at a map. Where are the French going to go for vacation? or the Germans? Or the Italians? Why, of course to the other countries around them. So they need to learn the languages.

Those are all the reasons I know.

Answer 3

I don't know for America, but in Europe, we're a continent roughly as large as the USA, but in this area, instead of having one dominant language surrounding that can be understood by almost anyone, we have more than 30 countries, each one having its official language(s) (a small place like Switzerland has 4 official languages !), not counting the unofficial dialects, regional languages and so on...

So, we're more incitated when we want to travel in Europe, to learn at least 1 other language, even 2. Of course, there are some foreign languages that are dominant (Spanish, French, German... for not saying English, of course)

Answer 4

This issue is bigger than simple laziness, though that is a part....we also have an education system that does not start teaching students new languages until it is really too late.
In many districts, the students are 14 or over before they ever have the option, instead of teaching them as little kids when their brains are more flexible and language learning much easier.
And, americans can pretty much get by anywhere with little knowledge of other languages....most places Americans travel have english speaking people to translate for them.
And of course, we are lazy too :)

Answer 5

I think it's because our school system is a lot less rigorous than theirs. American schools are quite slack, actually. But we still have shorter lunch periods...what's up with that??? (Just kidding...) Anyways, it's true that we don't learn a foreign language soon enough. I didn't get to learn a language until 8th grade, and we had no choice. We had to learn Spanish, but we only had a third of a school year. AND I learned more in the two weeks I spent in Costa Rica with my mom than in the entire class. Sheesh. Better curriculum, and sooner classes, and more choices. i would much rather have learned french right away, because then could use it more. I have family in France, and I could understand my Aunt and Uncle when they talk about something confusing...(He doesn't speak great English.) And I could talk to my little second-cousins...when they start talking.

Answer 6

You have NEVER met 1% of the American population, therefore your question is biased upon IGNORANCE!

But since you want to justify your position from the point that YOU are European, lets look at.

The only reason that Europeans speak so many languages is because all the European tribes have beat up on and invaded the others lands so many times that over the thousands of years of shifting occupations the languages were forced down the throats of the losers.

Not until America, Stationed troops in Europe from 1945 until the Wall came down, did this European Tribal war fare come to an end! For the first time in Europe history you have not had a tribal war far for the last 60 years. Thank America.

On the other hand, America has never been invaded, never beaten, and the land mass is so grate compared to any European country, with one language spoken where ever you go!

But then, America is made up of peoples from all countries, and many of them speak their original language.

Don't Go Away Mad, Just Get The FU*& out of our Face!

Answer 7

Well, i think it may have to do with the fact that European countries are much smaller and closer together. Therefore, people can travel easier and move around more. Also, most of the countries in Europe are in the EU so it's like they're all friends and such. haha. While the US has really no surrounding countries that speak foreign languages, except Mexico (and parts of Canada) but Spanish is the most learned second language here. But, ya, there just isn't as much need when you live in the US as compared to the UK. I mean, don't get me wrong, i think we should all learn as many languages as we can, but that's just not going to happen, people are stupid in the US and complain about not wanting to have to cater to foreigners.. but wahtever.. it's all stupid if you ask me, the US citizens should learn as many other langauges as they can. but most dont, o well.

Answer 8

Well, around here in Utah, tons of people speak a second language, but that’s because a lot of us have served Foreign missions (I went to Portugal, and learned Portuguese).

But you need to understand, the U.S. is not Geographically like Europe. We don’t have a different official language spoken in the state to the east of us, and then a completely different official language spoken in the state just to the south of us. There’s English all around us, for thousands and thousands of miles, it’s a completely different circumstance. A lot of people who live by the southern border speak pretty good Spanish though ;).

Answer 9

I think it might be that we're more isolated where as you guys are grouped closer together. I've heard that the speech a child hears in the first few months determines its ability to speak a language. Maybe that comes into play. Maybe we're just lazy. Probably the latter.

Answer 10

You have a wrong perception. A lot of Americans know several languages, especially college professors. I had such friend in a past, and have one now.
I don't know where you got that idea about American people.